


Lucy the Dog

by Tamasha



Series: The Parties of Our Lives [9]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dogs, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gay, Love, M/M, Married Life, Modern Era, Original Character(s), Pets, Relationship(s), Sad, Short One Shot, Slice of Life, sad about a dog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-11-12 09:06:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11158677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamasha/pseuds/Tamasha
Summary: Arthur gets home from work, and finds that there has been an unexpected death in the family. He never thought he would react like this to the death of a dog.





	Lucy the Dog

**Author's Note:**

> written by Natasha

Arthur was humming some song from the radio as he unlocked his door and entered his house. On Tuesday mornings, he has only a morning class to teach and then he doesn’t have to be back at the safehouse until dinner, so he usually spends this time at home. His kids were all in school and Merlin was taking a painting workshop, so the normally bustling house was quiet. As much as he loved his family, this peaceful solitude was welcome for a while.

Today, he had paperwork to go over, but he set that on the kitchen counter for later and went to the fridge. After some deliberation, he chose an apple and washed it off before biting into it and moving to the living room. It was only once he was settled in the chair that he noticed how quiet things were. Lucy was getting old, so she didn't always greet him at the door anymore, but she usually made her way over to sit by him and receive some pets by now.

"Luce?" he called softly. No response. He set down his apple with a frown and stood again, moving to check behind the couch, where she slept sometimes. "Lucy!" he called again.

He found her in their bedroom, lying in her bed, at the foot of his. His chest was already constricted and he knew what to expect, but he still hesitantly placed a hand on her side. It was motionless. "Lucy," he said again, very quiet this time.

He just knelt there for a while, letting it sink in while he stroked his dog. Then, with a deep breath, he stood again and went to call the vet.

Merlin returned home about an hour later. Arthur heard him struggling with the lock on the door, so he had reached the front door by the time Merlin walked in. "Hey, Professor," he said with a smile.

Arthur relieved his husband of a few of the things he was carrying - a wooden box he kept his paints in, an ungainly portfolio, a scarf, a thermos, a few loose paintbrushes, and one of Tala's Cabbage Patch Kids (why?). Merlin must have noticed something in his face, because he didn't put up a fuss, and he didn’t say a word until everything extraneous had been put aside.

Once his arms were free, Arthur took Merlin’s hand in his and led him into the family room. "Merlin," he said as he positioned his slightly bewildered husband in front of the couch.

"What is it?" Merlin asked. Despite having plenty of time to consider it, though, Arthur didn’t know how to break the news to Merlin. He was sensitive, and Arthur should be gentle. But how could he be gentle about this?

In the end, he had to break eye contact. "Lucy died this morning, Merlin," he blurted. He looked up right away, but while Merlin's eyes showed surprise, it was Arthur’s eyes that suddenly were full of tears. He blinked quickly, trying to clear his head, but Merlin was staring at him, looking a bit miserable, and he couldn’t stop the tears.

"Arthur," Merlin breathed, reaching out to wipe a cheek dry with his thumb. "I'm sorry."

Arthur opened his mouth to protest. Merlin was the one who loved animals. Sure, Lucy was originally Arthur’s dog, but only because of Merlin. Merlin was the one who was going to take this hard.

Then, Merlin wrapped his arms around Arthur and pulled him in, causing Arthur to go limp and cling to him. He took in a shaky breath and told himself to get control of his emotions as Merlin eased them both onto the couch.

"I'm sorry," he tried to say. His voice came out croaky, and Merlin rubbed his back.

"Arthur, it's okay to cry. She was with us for a long time. You'll miss her. I'll miss her." Merlin pulled back slightly to meet Arthur's eyes.

Arthur looked back, searching for an answer. Finally, he just nodded and pulled his husband back in to cry together.

**Author's Note:**

> Lucy is a dog that Merlin met while he worked at an animal shelter when he and Arthur first started dating. We haven't really talked about her in anything we've posted, but I wrote this randomly a while ago, so I decided to just post it.


End file.
